Japan's 'Shoplifters' Claims FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Film at Palm Springs Film Festival

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, Japan’s submission for the foreign-language film Oscar, was awarded the FIPRESCI prize for best foreign-language film at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which announced its juried award winners at a luncheon Saturday at Riviera Palm Springs.

Miranda de Pencier's The Grizzlies, about teens in a remote Arctic town, scored the audience award for best narrative feature and John Chester's The Biggest Little Farm, about how he and his wife created a biodiverse farm, took the audience award for best documentary feature.

The fest, which will conclude Monday after screening 226 films from 78 countries, including 43 of the 87 films submitted for the foreign-language Oscar, also saw the FIPRESCI prize for best actor in a foreign-language film go to Marcello Fonte from the Italian film Dogman, and the prize for best actress in a foreign-language film went to Joanna Kulig for Poland’s Cold War.

The fest’s New Voice New Visions Award was given to Sofia, Meryem Benm’Barek’s film about a young Moroccan women who has a child out of wedlock.

The John Schlesinger Award for the director of a debut documentary feature was presented to Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldron for Ghost Fleet, which looks at enslaved men on Indonesian fishing vessels.

The fest’s new Ricky Jay Magic of Cinema Award, named after the late actor and magician, went to Dead Pigs, a Chinese film directed by Cathy Yan about a mysterious wave of livestock deaths.

The fest will announce its audience award winners on Sunday.

The complete list of award winners is below.

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature

The Grizzlies (Canada), directed by Miranda de Pencier

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

The Biggest Little Farm (USA), directed by John Chester

FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign-Language Film of the YearShoplifters (Japan), directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor in a Foreign-Language Film
Marcello Fonte from Dogman (Italy)

FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress in a Foreign-Language Film
Joanna Kulig from Cold War (Poland)